The Baltimore Ravens’ defense lost another man today. Linebacker Ray Lewis will be out for the rest of the season with a torn tricep.
Lewis was injured during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Ravens also lost cornerback Lardarius Webb to a torn ACL on Sunday.
USA Today reports that the injury could signal the end of Lewis’ career. It had been widely speculated that Lewis would hang it up at the end of this season. Now that he’s had a season ending injury. it looks like retirement could be on the horizon.
Lewis is a 13-time Pro Bowler and a former Super Bowl MVP. He’s slowed down a bit in recent years but is still considered the heart of the Ravens’ defense. He may not be the player he once was, but he still leads the team in tackles this season with 57.
New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who once coached Lewis, said: “He’s just a great player, a great competitor, so passionate in everything he does. When you lose a player like Ray Lewis, it’s not just the Ravens that lose, but the entire NFL loses.”
The Ravens also recently announced that Laradrius Webb, the team’s top cornerback, tore his ACL on Sunday .
But it’s not all doom and gloom for the Ravens. The team could soon see NFL Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs back in the lineup. Suggs is still recovering from an Achilles tendon tear, but the team expects him to be back in the lineup by week 9.
Former Ravens head coach Brian Billick said that losing Lewis is a “huge blow” to the team but said that the team still have plenty of defensive talent.
Billick told USA Today :
“They’re going to be a factor. They’re going to make a run at it. Obviously, Ed Reed will anchor that defense as he always has. You’ve got Haloti Ngata up front. Although it will hurt to lose Ray Lewis, they have plenty of character to get through this. Are they in the same strong position they were in before? Probably not.”
Do you think the Ravens will be able to win without Ray Lewis and Laradrius Webb?